Nettie Marietta Michaud

Nettie Marietta Hibbard Michaud, 99, who worked with her husband on a ranch and was a custodian at Morin School, died May 8, 2013, in Puyallup, Wash.

She was born May 13, 1913, in Spearfish, S.D., the daughter of Newell and Edna Dority Hibbard.

Her grandparents were pioneers of Deadwood, S.D., coming there with the gold rush in 1877.

She was educated at Pringle, S.D., and Ravenna, Neb., and graduated from high school at St. Martin’s Academy at Sturgis, S.D. She married Ira Michaud in September 1933 in Custer, S.D.

They lived at the Michaud homestead in Pleasant Valley, west of Custer, and they followed construction jobs in the Black Hills and onto the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations.

In 1942 they moved to a small ranch on Pryor Creek, south of Billings, where she made preserves and pies and cooked for haying and threshing crews. She also worked for many years as a custodian at Morin School.

She and her husband gathered family histories for the “Trails and Tales, South of the Yellowstone” book.

Mr. Michaud died in November 1992. She lived for a time with daughters on Blue Creek and in Puyallup, Wash.

She had received assistance from Central Pierce Fire & Rescue in Tacoma, Wash.

Donna Jean Nagel

She was born March 3, 1939. She married James Nagel in 1955, and they made their home in Billings.

Mrs. Nagel had many hobbies, including sewing clothing for her daughters, stitch work and gardening.

She had received care from Aspen Meadows.

Survivors include her husband; two daughters, Sue Sherman and Jaime Carpenter; five grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Shirley Spilde and Alice Grosgebauer.

Services were May 17 at Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Last Updated on Friday, 24 May 2013 00:31

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Kevin Lyle Oellermann

Kevin Lyle Oellermann, 23, who had worked in some of the best kitchens in town, died Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

He was born Jan. 13, 1990, in Billings and graduated from Skyview High School in 2008.

He had most recently been part of the grand opening at the Northern Hotel. His passion for food was apparent in all the dishes he created.

He had received care from the St. Vincent Hospital Intensive Care Unit. He was in preceded in death by his mother, Denette Oellermann.

Survivors include his father, Dean Oellermann of Glendive; a brother, Luke Oellermann of Denver, Colo.; high school sweetheart, Hanna Lewis; their daughter Harper; and grandmothers, La Verne Oellermann of Glendive and Hazel Harley of Helena.

Services were May 20 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Arrangements were by Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Last Updated on Friday, 24 May 2013 00:31

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Paul Roland Buzalsky

Paul R. Buzalsky, 73, of Billings, a private pilot who built several of his own aircraft, died Saturday, May 18, 2013.

He was born Feb. 7, 1940, in Dickinson, N.D., the son of George and Lillian Buzalsky. He graduated from Campus High School in 1958.

After graduation he enlisted in the Air Force and was honorably discharged in 1962. He worked as an aviation mechanic at Boeing and at Logan International Airport in Billings. He also drove a bus for Continental Trailways and retired from the U.S. Postal Service.

Vigil services were held May 22 at Cremation & Funeral Gallery. Funeral Mass will be at noon Thursday, May 23, at St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral. Arrangements are by Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Last Updated on Friday, 24 May 2013 00:30

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Shane Tavarus Fleming

Shane Fleming, 33, of Billings, an iron worker and college student, died Monday, May 13, 2013, at home.

He was born March 20, 1980. He graduated from General H.H. Arnold High School in 1998 where he was class president, president of the cosmetology club and captain of the basketball, track and cross-country teams. He attended Langston University in Oklahoma on an academic scholarship.

Mr. Fleming moved to Billings in 2006. He married Christi Grewell of Silesia on Sept. 10, 2011. He worked for Local 732 as an iron worker and attended Montana State University Billings.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Addison Ann; a son, Tavarus Glenn; parents, Della and Gregory Williams of El Paso, Texas; a brother, Bisah Brown of Montana; grandparents, of Lubbock, Texas; and Manda Brown of Washington.

Services were May 17 at Cremation & Funeral Gallery with interment in Mountview Cemetery.

Last Updated on Friday, 24 May 2013 00:30

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Donald Edward Jarvenpaa

Donald Edward Jarvenpaa, 77, a retired high-voltage lineman, farmer and rancher, died at 10:17 a.m. May 17, 2013, in the Billings Clinic Intensive Care Unit, where he had spent his last 17 days following emergency surgery for an aortic aneurysm.

He was born to Frank Edward and Jean Marie Jarvenpaa on Oct. 28, 1935, in Detroit, Mich. He was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 20, which led to 15 orthopedic surgeries over the past 40 years.

He graduated from Cass Tech High School in Detroit in 1954 and began working at General Motors. He joined the Air Force and was stationed as a radar technician at the Cut Bank Radar Base in 1958. He married Christe Violet Hanson in 1960 and completed Air Force duty in 1962.

In 1963, he became a high-voltage lineman with Glacier Electric Co-op. In 1964, Mr. and Mrs. Jarvenpaa bought the Crooked Nail just north of Cut Bank on Cut Bank Creek. They expanded their holdings to 1,200 acres and paid it off in 20 years, working as farmers and ranchers on evenings and weekends.

He was promoted to operating superintendent for the last 10 years of his career, which ended in 1992. By this time, the farm and ranch production had been leased out and later placed in the Conservation Reserve Program.

He became caregiver to his wife, who died of cancer in 2000. He then assisted in the care of his former supervisor and friend, Warren Evers, Mr. Evers’ wife, Anne, and finally his sister-in-law, Sharon Hanson Ghidelli.

In recent years, he had wintered in Roberts near his son’s vacation rental.

Survivors include sons, Frank of Roberts and James Christopher of San Francisco, Calif.; sisters, Ella Gibson of Port Huron, Helen Glenby of Long Island, N.Y., and Carol Hayes of Kalamazoo, Mich.; and three stepgrandchildren.

Services will be at 4 p.m. May 25 at Roberts Methodist Church. A dual service for him and his wife will be held in late June at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Cut Bank. Arrangements are by Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Family condolences may be sent to P.O. Box 2, Roberts, MT 59070. Memorials may be sent to the Roberts Café, P.O. Box 58, Roberts, MT 59070, to help provide “home cooked” meals to those in need.

Last Updated on Friday, 24 May 2013 00:29

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Theresa Ann Pinnow

Theresa Ann Pinnow, 75, of Billings, died Saturday, May 11, 2013, at home.

She was born April 1, 1938, in Excelsior, Minn., to Louis and Viola Studer.

Survivors include three children, Diana, Stephen and Gayle; and two granddaughters.

Services will be at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 20:30

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Wilma Arleen Simonson

Wilma Arleen Simonson, 70, of Billings, who worked for Albertsons and in airport security, died at home on Friday, May 10, 2013.

She was born March 30, 1943, to William and Mary Knorr in Wolf Point and had six siblings. On July 29, 1962, she married Lyle Simonson in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, spending 21 years as a military spouse. She worked for Albertsons for 11 years and in airport security for two years.

Survivors include her husband, of Billings; children, Lorie Hunt of Joliet, Natalie Gore of St. Paul, Minn., Kris Simonson of Seattle, Wash., and Nathan Simonson of Billings; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Services were May 15 at Cremation & Funeral Gallery.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 20:29

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Richard ‘Dick’ Roebling

Richard “Dick” Roebling 77, who had worked on ranches and owned the Kirby Saloon, died May 10, 2013, at his home.

He was born Sept. 13, 1935, in Sheridan, Wyo., to Louise and Robert Roebling. He grew up in the Kirby area and graduated from Busby High School.

He worked various jobs in his early life, including work for the Farley Ranch and McRae’s Greenleaf Land and Livestock. In 1987, he and his wife, Delores, purchased the Kirby Saloon, retiring from there in 2001, then moving back to the ranch and then to Shepherd three years ago.

In 1965 he married Delores Becker-Kukes, who had five children. Their son Richard Dean was born a year later. He had previously been married to Doris Greenfield, and they had a daughter, Corrine, and son, Tracy.